<p>The first autograph seekers greeted Rachel Spradlin before she could shimmy out the driver’s window of her badly dented, tie-dye painted 1998 Geo Prizm.</p><p>Spradlin, a champion in the first demolition derby she entered, was suddenly in a whole new world.</p><p>“It was the fact you don’t see girls doing demolition derbies,” said Spradlin, remembering the first of two mini-car derbies she entered at the 2017 Johnson County 4-H Fair. “(Winning) gave me that rush like anybody can do it. The kids wanting autographs loved the tie-dye car. They thought that was the coolest thing in the world.”</p><p>Spradlin, a 2015 Indian Creek graduate, defied odds as the last car running before returning the next night and placing fourth. She won the overall mini-car title based on the combination of her two finishes.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>Spradlin’s attempt to defend the championship didn’t go nearly as well. Sitting behind the wheel of the same car at last year’s fair, she had her alternator go out just 30 seconds in.</p><p>Such is derbying.</p><p>On Friday, Spradlin, 22, brings a different 1998 Geo Prizm to the fairgrounds with an equally colorful paint job — a purple base covered by the various colors of Skittles candy — in an attempt to recapture past glory. She’s entered in mini-car events on Friday and Saturday.</p><p>The fair showcases three nights of demolition derbies starting Thursday night. Overall, there are 15 competitions.</p><p>One of those Spradlin will try to defeat is her boyfriend, Luke Helvie, a 22-year-old Center Grove graduate who placed third in the derby that Spradlin won. Last year, Helvie grabbed the spotlight by winning the first mini-car derby and placing fifth the following evening.</p><p>“The year I won in Johnson County, he was excited, but I definitely held it over him,” Spradlin said with a laugh. “Actually, Luke played a big role in me starting to do demolition derbies. It was intimidating at first, but once I got out there, I was like, ‘Let’s go.’”</p><p>Helvie instructed Spradlin to lead with the rear end of the car so not to increase the chance of damage to her engine. She said the strategy was simple — drive to the edge of the circle, look for another car and shift into reverse.</p><p>The exterior of Spradlin’s Prizm is similar to that of Kyle Busch, whose red-based M&amp;Ms car is one of the NASCAR circuit’s most recognizable. With the first mini-car derby two days away, Spradlin is confident.</p><p>"Oh, she’s ready. She’s good to go," Spradlin said of the car. "It’s got a nice hard frame, so it doesn’t crumble altogether when someone hits you."</p><p>Helvie is entered in three of the competitions — both mini-car derbies and the minivan scrum on Friday. His mini-car is a 2001 Chevy Prizm. Helvie ran his first derby at the Johnson County Fair four years ago and, in time, helped get Spradlin interested in competing.</p><p>“I was all for her doing it. It’s cool watching her have a car out there like everyone else,” Helvie said. “I got hit by her a couple of times in (2017), but she wasn’t the one who put me out.”</p><p>Regardless of how they fare Friday night, Spradlin and Helvie will work on their cars late into the evening or early the next morning preparing them for Saturday night’s derby. They’ll pound out dents and, after some sleep, drive to Indianapolis to scour one or two junkyards for any necessary parts.</p><p>They could be replacing tires, a radiator, shock absorbers or correcting any number of other automotive wrongs. Spradlin and Helvie will work on the cars until it’s time to leave for the fairgrounds, load them on Helvie’s trailer and then begin the crashing anew.</p><p>Again, such is derbying.</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="If you go" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><strong>Johnson County 4-H Fair Demolition Derbies</strong></p><p>When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. (Autocross-Mini, Autocross-Big, Truck Dash, Youth Derby); Friday, 7:30 p.m. (Power Wheels, Midsize, Minivan, Mini, Full Size Stock); Saturday, 7 p.m. (Power Wheels, Powder Puff, Full Size Gut n’ Go, Midsize, Mini, Full Size Stock).</p><p>Admission: $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
